Champion Data is a sports data and

analytics Analytics is the systematic computational analysis of data or statistics. It is used for the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data, which also falls under and directly relates to the umbrella term, data sc ...

company based in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

. It has been the official statistical data provider to the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL) since 1999.

History

Principally rooted in

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

, the company was created by former footballer Ted Hopkins and his wife Angelika Oehme in 1995. Hopkins' vision was to tabulate statistical data from the

(AFL) and provide a "comprehensive and qualitative dimension" with "underlying analysis and commentaries". Through Champion Data, Hopkins launched the Rev Rankings in the ''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a Conservatism, conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the American Rupert Murdoch, Murd ...

'' in 1996, an early precursor of AFL Fantasy player ratings. By 1998, Champion Data's statistics were a feature of discussion on '' The Footy Show.'' The company then entered in a partnership with the AFL for 1999 and beyond to provide the league with statistical data, an agreement which continues to this day.

Ownership

Hopkins and Oehme sold the business to private ownership in 2007, with the former continuing to work under contract at the company for a number of years following the sale. The current majority owner of the company is Champion Data's director, Chris Hume. The AFL holds the remaining 49-percent

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the ...

stake.

Other sports

As well as providing statistical analysis for the

AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football competition for women's Australian rules football, female players. The 2017 AFL Women's season, first season of the l ...

, the

Talent League The Talent League (also known as the Coates Talent League under naming rights and previously as the NAB League and TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition based in Melbourne and run by the Australian Foot ...

and various football

state league A state league is a level of competition in Sport in Australia, Australian sport directly below that of a national league. Most of these competitions are based in a single States and territories of Australia, state or territory, and from this the te ...

s, Champion Data also captures data for

Netball Australia Netball Australia is the main governing body for netball in Australia. It is affiliated to World Netball. It is responsible for organising and administering the Australia national netball team, Suncorp Super Netball, Australian National Netba ...

and

Netball New Zealand Netball New Zealand is the national body which oversees, promotes and manages netball in New Zealand, including the Silver Ferns. In 2019, 137,713 players were registered with Netball New Zealand, the governing body for organised netball in th ...

's elite competitions. The company has also inked contracts with the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

Premier Lacrosse League The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) is a professional field lacrosse league in the United States. The league comprises eight teams. Its inaugural season debuted on June 1, 2019, and included a 14-week tour-based schedule taking place in 12 major- ...

, and XFL.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Data companies Australian companies established in 1995 Companies based in Melbourne